


Folktale from the bard's village

by FunWithPuns



Series: OXFalconmail [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: Camping, Gen, Group Bonding, Idk dudes, Kinda, Light Angst, Minor Violence, folktale, if they want to read my shit writing, just my gay bard retelling a folktale from the village he grew up in, lowkey graphic description of injuries???, no spoilers for the campaign so safe for the other players to read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27547492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunWithPuns/pseuds/FunWithPuns
Summary: It's dark, they're camping in a forest, and the group is on edge. So Silas does the best he can to distract his friends. How? By telling a dark folktale from his village.
Relationships: None
Series: OXFalconmail [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2013619





	Folktale from the bard's village

**Author's Note:**

> I had posted this on my Tumblr, then thought why not post my dnd stuff on here?  
> Also had this idea in my head for a while. I reckon Silas grew up hearing lots of stories (some scary, some not, all based on at least a grain of truth) which influenced him from a young age to be a more.. creative child, as well as a more.. obedient? child.  
> It came out as a bit of a mess, but none the less, fun to write.

The group sat around the fire, their only light source in the black night, even the moon hid away from them.   
Silas sensed the group were slightly unsettled, which was normal, they were camping deep in a forest, after killing some monsters they came across. It was natural to worry that others will come, that the light will attract unwanted attention.  
He thought to himself how he could get their minds off the topic. Music always lifted the mood, even if sometimes the others complained, however he shouldn't attract more attention to them, so.. Music is off limits. Performing a silly drama piece also tended to make the others laugh, even if it’s at his own expense, but one again, he tended to be rather loud, and that would only lead to more trouble. However maybe he was onto something.. Maybe a story could help.  
“How about I tell y’all a story?” He suggested, breaking the silence.   
“What’s wrong with silence?” someone behind him spoke. He reckoned it was Courage, probably leaning against a tree, keeping her distance like always.  
Imogen hummed in agreement with Courage, though seemingly too tired to give a damn. Either that or she’s just trying to enjoy Calarel running her hands through her hair.  
“Everyone is tense, and either we sit in a circle and talk about our problems, or we try and distract ourselves.”  
“Well will you talk about your trauma?”  
“Trauma? I don't know her.” Silas sees how annoying it can get, being constantly asked about his feelings, because lord is Courage annoying him with that.  
He glanced over at Aleris, awaiting a response. She shrugged,”sure, why not?”  
“Calarel?”  
She looked up from her book, looking rather startled as if she was absorbed into whatever she was reading.  
“Sorry, what were you asking?”  
“If you wanted to hear a story.”  
“Oh, well.. Sure, yes.”  
Silas smiled widely as imogen grumbled to Calarel, pouting at her.   
“Ok, i have the majority, so settle down children, as i tell you a folktale from my village-”  
“We’re all older than you.” Courage points out, but he shushes her. She was the same age as him!.. Maybe a few hours older, but still.  
He thought for a moment of which folktale to tell his group.  
“In the small village, there was a child,” great way to start any story,”they always listened to their parents when they told them to behave, to do as they were told. That was until they reached the dreaded teenage years, of course. Emotions were harder to control, they tended to be more angry, they would shout and argue with their parents, refusing to do anything they say, instead preferring to strop and do something they wanted to do.”  
“Does that remind you of anyone?” Courage asked, and Silas could just feel the smirk on her face. Imogen just flipped Courage off.  
“If you’ll let me carry on, thank you very much,” he huffed,”their parents warned them about the behaviour. ‘It will only lead to you getting hurt’.. They thought their parents meant they would lash out and do something they regret, and though their parents did mean that, they also meant it quite literally.. You see, there were deadly monsters nearby that targeted the village, though to this day, nobody knows why.”  
“Ok, this is clearly bullshit.” Imogen grumbled, to which Silas pulled a face. He wondered if he should correct her, but decided not to.  
“What were the monsters?” Calarel asked.  
“Nobody knows, even ‘til this day.. The best guess is some psychotic disfigured individuals who wished to enact revenge, though others swear it’s some evil gods who wished to have some fun.. Either way, they had their eyes on this village.  
“This teen had the misfortune of running into one of these people one day, just outside the village borders. They hadn’t been watching where they were going, and bumped into a hooded figure. They snapped at the figure for being in the way. The figure didn't reply, only grabbed onto the teen, who screamed at them to let go.  
“The teen wasn't seen for a few days, and the parents worried that they had died out in the wilderness. That was until they heard the shouts and gasps from the village square.  
“It turns out that the teen was alive, though just barely.. They were covered in blood, but even the blood couldn't hide what happened to them. All their skin, it was torn, uneven, stretched, scarred, mutilated. They scarcely looked human. Everyone realised what the teen must've done to end up in this state.  
“As soon as they arrived in the village, they were cast out, told to never come back again. Even their own parents refused to look them in the eye, shunning them.” the others remained silent,”that’s.. That’s the end.”  
The silence lingered for a few moments more, making Silas wonder if his friend had actually listened, or if they zoned out. He hoped it was the former, or his storytelling skills were seriously rusty.  
Eventually, Aleris spoke, though almost too quiet for him to hear,”those villagers.. They wouldn't help an injured child? That’s.. That’s horrible..”   
Calarel nodded in agreement, frowning,”That seems unfair on the child.. They were rude, but they were dying..”  
“I would have burned down the village-”  
“Imogen, I think you missed the point..”  
“Oh.. what was the point?”  
Silas huffed,”It was not to be rude to others, or you get what you deserve.”  
“Seems like a harsh punishment.” Courage suddenly appeared right behind him, causing Silas to jump when she spoke. It didn't escape his notice that she smiled slightly at that.  
“It is?” He paused,”Well it’s just a story anyway, it doesn’t mean much. Just a way to scare kids into being good. Y’all are just overthinking it.”  
The others chatted for a while longer, and finally the others seemed calm, forgetting about the horrors that may lurk nearby. Silas smiled to himself, enjoying the warmth from the fire, as well as the peacefulness of his friends.


End file.
